In the tradition of Patrick Leigh Fermor and Geoff Dyer, a Grammy-winning producer discovers a powerful and ancient folk music tradition.

In a dark record shop in Istanbul, renowned collector Christopher King uncovered some of the strangest—and most hypnotic—sounds he had ever heard. The 78s were immensely moving, seeming to tap into a primal well of emotion inaccessible to contemporary music. The songs, King learned, were from Epirus, an area straddling southern Albania and northwestern Greece and boasting a folk tradition extending back to the pre-Homeric era. Lament from Epirus is an unforgettable journey into a musical obsession, which follows a unique genre back to the roots of song itself. As King hunts for traces of two long-lost virtuosos—one of whom may have committed a murder—he tells the story of the Roma people who pioneered Epirotic folk music and whose descendants continue the tradition today. His journey becomes an investigation into song and dance’s role as a means of spiritual healing—and what this may reveal about music’s original purpose.

(NASHVILLE, TN) -- Third Man Records is proud to present on February 5, 2016 on CD and vinyl a truly rare musical oddity- a two disc collection of primal and unhinged Greek village music that at times sounds more like free jazz or doom folk, feral and trance-like as it is. After years of research, fieldwork and collecting, Christopher King-Grammy-winning producer, sound-engineer, curator and writer- has gathered together from his private 78 rpm archive the most mind expanding and libido inducing song and dance music from the rural hinterlands of mainland Greece and its islands. Recorded between 1907 and 1960, this collection contains the first and the last-the alpha and the omega-of Greek demotika- or folk music. And it is not what you would expect.

Remastered from the original 78 rpm discs, this set contains 28 previously unissued recordings made in the cramped, primitive studios of Athens, Greece, New York, NY, and Chicago, IL. Crazed Macedonian bagpipes, keening violins, shiver-inducing zournas and shepherd-pipes are found throughout the two discs. Cover artwork is by legendary underground artist R. Crumb and designed by Grammy winning Susan Archie. A beautifully thought-provoking if not radical essay on this music by King accompanies the lavish package. Not simply for historians or collectors of long gone sounds, this compilation is intended to push the limits of what we have come to expect of music, its purpose and indeed its origin. You will experience a profound musical transformation immediately upon listening.

Alexis Zoumbas’s expressions of longing are so raw and unmediated that I suspect anyone who has ever yearned for anything – who has ever gazed dolefully out a window, or sighed audibly over a cup of whiskey, or felt subsumed by a certain kind of ache – will feel these songs like a club to the back of the knees. They are immediate, destructive, and stunning. That Christopher King was able to collect and contain them for us is an extraordinary gift. —Amanda Petrusich

Years of research and obsession have resulted in this, the ﬁrst collection of recordings by the legendary and masterful Greek folk violinist Alexis Zoumbas. Very few pre-war musicians have tapped deeper into the human soul than Zoumbas and this volume presents his most profoundly hypnotic and unearthly pieces. A deep set of notes is accompanied by previously unpublished photographs as well as original art-work by R. Crumb. Respectfully crafted by Christopher King and Susan Archie for Angry Mom Records.

Featuring sublime and unhinged music rarely heard outside of Northern Greece and Southern Albania, the performances presented in this collection span the range of plaintive, ancient
dirges to hypnotic, droning dance pieces. The style, repertoire, and songs from this isolated
region are unearthly in their euphonic appeal. Most of the sides on this LP have not been issued
since they were originally pressed on 78 rpm disc. A deep set of notes is accompanied by comprehensive lyrical translations as well as original artwork by R. Crumb. Respectfully crafted by
Christopher King and Susan Archie for Angry Mom Records.

Original Artwork by Robert Crumb.
14 Songs with Deluxe Gatefold LP

A Long Gone Sound Production for Angry Mom Records. AMA-03.
Part of the "How The Other Half Hears" Sound Series.

Years of canvassing, collecting and research have gone into this, the first in a series of exploring early Greek and Balkan folk music pre-dating the rise of Rembetika. Here are the earliest known recordings of village musicians in the northernmost hinterlands of Greece. The isolation of this area produced, and kept pure, distinct styles and vocal expressions that have rarely been heard in such high fidelity. The sound is simultaneously haunting and beautiful.

Compiled and Remastered by Chris King

Beyond Rembetika: The Music & Dance of The Region of Epirus [4CD Box Set]

If American Primitive Guitar begins with John Fahey and the Takoma School, then the actual origins of this sound is found within this collection of fourteen classic solo guitar performances. Recorded between 1923 to 1930, this set is the "Rosetta Stone" of style and repertoire tapped into deeply by Fahey, Basho & Rose, among many others. Sam McGee, Riley Puckett, Bayless Rose, Sylvester Weaver, Lemuel Turner, Frank Hutchison and Davey Miller are the rural artists included in this anthology. Each one of these showcases a particular technique and sensitivity sourced from the earlier 19th century parlor guitar tradition. Several of these sides are reissued for their first time including Sylvester Weaver's "Guitar Blues" which is the first solo finger picked guitar solo ever recorded. Stunningly remastered and annotated by Christopher King.

This latest installment in the Long Gone Sound series features some of the rarest, most compelling tunes and heart-breaking songs from South-West Louisiana. Most of the performances on this collection have not been heard since they were originally recorded on 78 rpm disc and yet they serve as a discrete Rosetta Stone for the traditional Cajun and Creole repertoire that exists today. Not to be understated, this collection features some of the most vexingly rare & valuable Cajun 78s ever recorded. Cajun discs such as those found in this release are valued not only for their magnificent artistry but also because of their desperate scarcity.

In the isolated back-water bayous & prairies of South-West Louisiana a profoundly unique and powerful form of indigenous music developed among the French speaking white Cajuns and black Creoles. Drawing from a rich range of cultural sounds, this music was first recorded in the 1920s & 1930s and featured such luminaries as Amede Ardoin, Dennis McGee and Joe & Cleoma Falcon. This special collection includes all of Percy Babineaux & Bixy Guidry’s 1929 recordings and most of Angelas Le Jeune’s 1929-1930 recordings with Denus McGee & Ernest Fruge. Found within is also the newly “discovered” 78 of Blind Uncle Gaspard & Delma Lachney. Respectfully crafted by Christopher King, Susan Archie & Ron Brown for Tompkins Square.

Christopher King is currently engaged in remastering the world's largest privately held collection of Yiddish & Jewish 78 RPM records for the Mayrent Institute at University of Madison in Wisconsin. The collection contains over 9,000 unique sides and Mr. King has remastered over 4,000 sides.

The purpose of the Long Gone Sound Series is not didactic in nature nor scholarly in scope. Rather, the goal of this venture is to create a catalyst for musical and cultural transformation. We are providing an aperture through which the curious can enter and emerge either famished or full. This is an attempt to capture, if just fleetingly, a discrete frequency in the spectrum of our fading sounds, an audio complement to “Specters Of The Spectrum.”

Christopher King is a re-mastering engineer, producer, and author. He specializes in pre-war rural American music (with an emphasis on Cajun) and various Eastern European, Balkan and Mediterranean musics.

He started Long Gone Sound Productions in 1999. He won a Grammy in 2002 and has been nominated six times in total.